title: Viral agents associated with acute gastroenteritis in Seoul, Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study was carried out to describe the epidemiologic characteristics of viral gastroenteritis and determine the phylogenetic composition of norovirus strains detected in hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Seoul, Korea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 10,603 stool samples were collected from 2004 to 2008 and tested by RT-PCR or ELISA. In 4,170 (39.3%) samples at least one viral pathogen was present. Rotavirus (RoV) (1,864, 17.5%) was found to be the causative agent followed by norovirus (NoV) (1,845, 17.4%), human adenovirus (HAdV) (266, 2.5%), human astrovirus (HAstV) (194, 1.8%), and sapovirus (SV) (1, 0.009%). Five GI genotypes (GI-1, GI-3, GI-4, GI-8, and GI-9) and eight GII genotypes (GII-2, GII-3, GII-4, GII-6, GII-7, GII-12, GII-16, and GII-17) of NoV were identified in acute gastroenteritis patients in 2008.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The genetic characteristics of norovirus and the epidemiologic patterns of a viral pathogen from acute gastroenteritis patients may give potentially effective data for epidemiological studies in Seoul, Korea.
authors.affiliation: Seoul Metropolitan Government Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Virus team, Republic of Korea. sanghun93@seoul.go.kr
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D029322:Norovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010802:Phylogeny; D056910:Republic of Korea; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000821:virology*